In a young readers’ world dominated by Harry Potter and hobbits, Christian parents and educators are looking for fantastic tales that nourish children’s spiritual development. Faerie Gold appeals to the imagination while directing hearts and minds toward truth and integrity. This collection is ideal for independent reading, family story hour, and classroom use. The book contains twenty-two fairytales and fantasies and is designed to awaken the reader’s imagination and direct it toward God’s light. Authors include George MacDonald, Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Anderson, Christina Rossetti, and others. Also included are biographical notes, a collection of quotations, and a message to parents about the value of fairytales and fantasy. C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien affirmed the power of fairy stories to educate the imagination and moral sensibility. FAERIE GOLD is a magnificent testimonial to the correctness of their judgment. There is something here for everyone. FAERIE GOLD is first and foremost a book for children. But as all the greatest writers of fairy stories have insisted, adults never tire of the really great fairy stories. In addition to the anthology of classic fairy tales, the editors have crowned their achievement with two sections at the end of the book that make it even more of a treasure―an essay defending fantasy and fairy stories and a collection of choice quotations on those same subjects. -- Leland Ryken, Wheaton College Kathryn Lindskoog , an educator and literary critic, wrote more than twenty books. Among them are C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian , A Child's Garden of Christian Verses , and How to Grow a Young Reader . In addition to teaching high-school English for seven years, she was an adjunct instructor at several universities and seminaries. She earned her M.A. at California State University at Long Beach. Ranelda Mack Hunsicker , a former elementary and high school teacher, is a freelance writer. She is the author of In God We Trust: Stories of Faith in American History and a biography of David Brainerd. She and Kathryn Lindskoog updated and expanded How to Grow a Young Reader . Introduction Your Golden Key If I gave you a sheet of drawing paper and a set of colored pens, how would you use them? Or if you were on a sandy beach with a shovel and bucket, what would you do? And if you had to lie in bed very still for several hours-without books or television, music or a computer-where would you go in your mind? The answer to each of these questions depends on you and a special power you possess...the power of imagination. Before we can create anything, we have to imagine it. And what we imagine comes from the deepest place inside us. Where did we get this amazing ability to picture things our eyes cannot see? To find out, we need to turn to the greatest story of all. There we read that, once upon a time, God imagined our world. And then He made it so. He pictured people like you and me, and He breathed life into us. He wanted to share the joy of making things and seeing that they are good. So He planted a tiny seed of His creativity in our hearts. Every time someone tells a story, imagination is at work. Without leaving our chairs, we travel through time and space. And when we enter the enchanted Kingdom called Faerie- whether or not we find any faeries-we see the world in brand-new ways. Old, everyday things like wardrobes and mirrors and wells take us where we have never been. We never know what to expect around each corner and turn in the road. Between the covers of this book are many gateways to magical places. Go where you like and leave when you want to. Take the doors you choose in any order you wish. But whenever you venture into Faerie, remember that the world of imagination is a dangerous place filled with giants and ogres and dragons, as well as magic wishes and thrilling adventures. Here is how J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, describes it : "The land of fairy-story is wide and deep and high, and is filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there: shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both sorrow and joy as sharp as swords." "To make it safely through the lands of enchantment," writes coeditor Kathryn Lindskoog, "you will need A light to guide your path, A sword to battle evil, and A shield to guard your heart. All three of these gifts can be yours from the same One who gave you the golden key of imagination. Use them wisely as you explore the kingdom of the fairies.